The Reading Life
The Joy of Seeing New Worlds Through Others' Eyes
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Narrated by:
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John Lee
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By:
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C. S. Lewis
About this listen
The revered teacher and best-selling author reflects on the power, importance, and joy of a life dedicated to reading books in this delightful collection drawn from his wide body of writings.
More than 50 years after his death, revered intellectual and teacher C. S. Lewis continues to speak to booklovers, thanks not only to his intellectual insights on Christianity but also his wondrous creative works and deep reflections on the literature that influenced his life. Beloved for his instructive novels including The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, and The Chronicles of Narnia as well as his philosophical books that explored theology and Christian life, Lewis was a lifelong writer and book lover.
Cultivated from his many essays, articles, and letters, as well as his classic works, The Reading Life provides guidance and reflections on the love and enjoyment of books. Engaging and enlightening, this well-rounded collection includes Lewis’ reflections on science fiction, why children’s literature is for all ages, and why we should revisit two old books for every new one we read or listen to.
A window into the thoughts of one of the greatest public intellectuals of our time, this collection reveals not only why Lewis loved the written word, but what it means to learn through literature from one of our wisest and most enduring teachers.
©2019 C. S. Lewis (P)2019 HarperAudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Amazing collection!
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On Writing (and Writers)
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Prompts
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A Preface to Paradise Lost
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Preface to Paradise Lost, the Christian apologist and revered scholar and professor of literature closely examines the style, content, structure, and themes of Milton’s masterpiece, a retelling of the biblical story of the Fall of Humankind, Satan’s temptation, and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Considering the story within the context of the Western literary tradition, Lewis offers invaluable insights into Paradise Lost and the nature of literature itself, unveiling the poem’s beauty and its wisdom.
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Another Scholastic Treasure from CSL
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English Literature in the Sixteenth Century (Excluding Drama)
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C. S. Lewis offers a magisterial take on the literature and poetry of one of the most consequential periods in world history, providing deep insight into some of the greatest writers of the age, including Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, William Tyndale, John Knox, Dr. Johnson, Richard Hooker, Hugh Latimer, Christopher Marlowe, John Donne, and Thomas Cranmer.
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Treasure
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Buyer beware... incomplete works
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Set in the pre-Christian world of Glome on the outskirts of Greek civilization, it is a tale of two princesses: the beautiful Psyche, who is loved by the god of love himself, and Orual, Psyche's unattractive and embittered older sister, who loves Psyche with a destructive possessiveness. Her frustration and jealousy over Psyche's fate sets Orual on the troubled path of self-discovery. Lewis's last work of fiction, this is often considered his best by critics.
-
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C. S. Lewis Essential Audio Library
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Nine essential works by C. S. Lewis in one deluxe audio edition: Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, Miracles, The Problem of Pain, A Grief Observed, The Abolition of Man, The Weight of Glory, and George MacDonald.
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- By AHR on 02-22-22
By: C. S. Lewis
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A definitive collection of wisdom on every style of writing and a celebration of the transformative power of the written word from one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the modern age, C. S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and other revered classics.
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-
Prompts
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By: C. S. Lewis
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A Preface to Paradise Lost
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- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Preface to Paradise Lost, the Christian apologist and revered scholar and professor of literature closely examines the style, content, structure, and themes of Milton’s masterpiece, a retelling of the biblical story of the Fall of Humankind, Satan’s temptation, and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Considering the story within the context of the Western literary tradition, Lewis offers invaluable insights into Paradise Lost and the nature of literature itself, unveiling the poem’s beauty and its wisdom.
-
-
Another Scholastic Treasure from CSL
- By James on 04-10-22
By: C. S. Lewis
-
English Literature in the Sixteenth Century (Excluding Drama)
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
C. S. Lewis offers a magisterial take on the literature and poetry of one of the most consequential periods in world history, providing deep insight into some of the greatest writers of the age, including Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, William Tyndale, John Knox, Dr. Johnson, Richard Hooker, Hugh Latimer, Christopher Marlowe, John Donne, and Thomas Cranmer.
-
-
Treasure
- By James on 08-25-22
By: C. S. Lewis
-
The Dark Tower, and Other Stories
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The revered author’s definitive collection of short fiction, which explores enduring spiritual and science fiction themes such as space, time, reality, fantasy, God, and the fate of humankind. As powerful, inventive, and profound as his theological and philosophical works, The Dark Tower reveals another side of Lewis’s creative mind and his longtime fascination with reality and spirituality. It is ideal listening for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien, Lewis’s longtime friend and colleague.
-
-
Buyer beware... incomplete works
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This is an extensive collection of short essays and other pieces by C. S. Lewis that have been brought together in one volume for the first time. As well as his many books, letters, and poems, Lewis also wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on various ethical issues and on the nature of literature and storytelling. In this essay collection we find a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.
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Here is the missing Table of Contents
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George MacDonald
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
C. S. Lewis wrote of George MacDonald: "I know hardly any other writer who seems to be closer, or more continually close, to the Spirit of Christ Himself." Lewis also claimed that everything he wrote was influenced by this Scottish pastor and novelist who lived a century before Lewis. George MacDonald serves as an act of appreciation, with Lewis gathering 365 of the best and most profound lines from his mentor as well as providing a preface detailing the impact MacDonald had on Lewis' own literary and spiritual career.
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Meditations from Mac Donald
- By Brian D. Moore on 06-08-15
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An Experiment in Criticism
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Why do we read literature and how do we judge it? C. S. Lewis' classic An Experiment in Criticism springs from the conviction that literature exists for the joy of the reader and that books should be judged by the kind of reading they invite. He argues that "good reading", like moral action or religious experience, involves surrender to the work in hand and a process of entering fully into the opinions of others: "in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself."
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A Lively and Brilliant Book, Expertly Performed
- By James on 05-22-21
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Surprised by Joy
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- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this book, C.S. Lewis tells of his search for joy, a spiritual journey that led him from the Christianity of his early youth into atheism and then back to Christianity.
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Not what I expected
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By: C. S. Lewis
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The Abolition of Man
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Both astonishing and prophetic, The Abolition of Man remains one of C. S. Lewis's most controversial works. Lewis sets out to persuade his audience of the ongoing importance and relevance of universal objective values, such as courage and honor, and the foundational necessity of natural law. He also makes a cogent case that a retreat from these pillars of our educational system, even if in the name of "scientism", would be catastrophic. National Review lists it as number seven on their "100 Best Nonfiction Books of the 20th Century".
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Lewis the philosopher, not the theologian
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Letters
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This volume of short essays and other pieces by C. S. Lewis is part of a larger collection, C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces. In addition to his many books, letters, and poems, C. S. Lewis wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on ethical issues and the nature of literature and storytelling. Within this audiobook is a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.
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Just Lewis
- By William on 02-07-21
By: C. S. Lewis
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The Four Loves
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this remarkable recording, C. S. Lewis shows why millions of readers have acclaimed him the greatest spokesman for Christianity in the 20th century. In a resonant, baritone voice, Lewis explores the nature of the four Greek words that are translated love in English: storge (affection), philia (friendship), eros (sexual or romantic love) and agape (selfless love).
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Insightful Views on Love
- By William on 01-30-05
By: C. S. Lewis
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The Weight of Glory
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Selected from sermons delivered by C. S. Lewis during World War II, these nine addresses show the beloved author and theologian bringing hope and courage in a time of great doubt. "The Weight of Glory", considered by many to be Lewis’s finest sermon of all, is an incomparable explication of virtue, goodness, desire, and glory.
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Indispensible Lewis
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The Problem of Pain
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
"If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?" And what of the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? The greatest Christian thinker of our time sets out to disentangle this knotty issue. With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C. S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungering for a true understanding of human nature.
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Deep, real answers for the existence of pain
- By Nobody's business on 02-17-14
By: C. S. Lewis
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A Grief Observed
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 1 hr and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Written after his wife's tragic death as a way of surviving the "mad midnight moments", A Grief Observed is C.S. Lewis's honest reflection on the fundamental issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss. This work contains his concise, genuine reflections on that period.
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Read This One
- By James on 11-26-11
By: C. S. Lewis
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Miracles
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
"The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares the way for this, or results from this." This is the key statement of Miracles, in which C. S. Lewis shows that a Christian must not only accept but rejoice in miracles as a testimony of the unique personal involvement of God in his creation.
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sound, shrewd, well articulated, and well read.
- By Andrew on 09-17-15
By: C. S. Lewis
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The Discarded Image
- An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Richard Elwood
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Discarded Image paints a lucid picture of the medieval worldview, providing the historical and cultural background to the literature of the middle ages and renaissance. It describes the 'image' discarded by later years as "the medieval synthesis itself, the whole organization of their theology, science, and history into a single, complex, harmonious mental model of the universe". This, Lewis' last book, has been hailed as "the final memorial to the work of a great scholar and teacher and a wise and noble mind".
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I hope more of Lewis's scholastic stuff is coming
- By James on 04-01-21
By: C. S. Lewis
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To Show and to Tell
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Distinguished author Phillip Lopate, editor of the celebrated anthology The Art of the Personal Essay, is universally acclaimed as “one of our best personal essayists” ( Dallas Morning News). Here, combining more than 40 years of lessons from his storied career as a writer and professor, he brings us this highly anticipated nuts-and-bolts guide to writing literary nonfiction. A phenomenal master class shaped by Lopate’s informative, accessible tone, and immense gift for storytelling.
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Just Lewis
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I hope more of Lewis's scholastic stuff is coming
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By: C. S. Lewis
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The Art of the Novel
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Kundera brilliantly examines the work of such important and diverse figures as Rabelais, Cervantes, Sterne, Diderot, Flaubert, Tolstoy, and Musil. He is especially penetrating on Hermann Broch, and his exploration of the world of Kafka's novels vividly reveals the comic terror of Kafka's bureaucratized universe. Kundera's discussion of his own work includes his views on the role of historical events in fiction, the meaning of action, and the creation of character in the postpsychological novel.
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Informative and Inspiring
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A personal and opinionated book on the Canon
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Priceless Recordings of Intense Feeling
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-
Overall
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Performance
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-
-
Not a guide on writing personal essays
- By A. Yoshida on 08-07-13
By: Phillip Lopate
-
Letters
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This volume of short essays and other pieces by C. S. Lewis is part of a larger collection, C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces. In addition to his many books, letters, and poems, C. S. Lewis wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on ethical issues and the nature of literature and storytelling. Within this audiobook is a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.
-
-
Just Lewis
- By William on 02-07-21
By: C. S. Lewis
-
The Discarded Image
- An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Richard Elwood
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Discarded Image paints a lucid picture of the medieval worldview, providing the historical and cultural background to the literature of the middle ages and renaissance. It describes the 'image' discarded by later years as "the medieval synthesis itself, the whole organization of their theology, science, and history into a single, complex, harmonious mental model of the universe". This, Lewis' last book, has been hailed as "the final memorial to the work of a great scholar and teacher and a wise and noble mind".
-
-
I hope more of Lewis's scholastic stuff is coming
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By: C. S. Lewis
-
The Art of the Novel
- By: Milan Kundera, Linda Asher - translator
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kundera brilliantly examines the work of such important and diverse figures as Rabelais, Cervantes, Sterne, Diderot, Flaubert, Tolstoy, and Musil. He is especially penetrating on Hermann Broch, and his exploration of the world of Kafka's novels vividly reveals the comic terror of Kafka's bureaucratized universe. Kundera's discussion of his own work includes his views on the role of historical events in fiction, the meaning of action, and the creation of character in the postpsychological novel.
-
-
Informative and Inspiring
- By Mo on 11-27-21
By: Milan Kundera, and others
-
The Western Canon
- The Books and School of the Ages
- By: Harold Bloom
- Narrated by: James Armstrong
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harold Bloom explores our Western literary tradition by concentrating on the works of twenty-six authors central to the Canon. He argues against ideology in literary criticism; he laments the loss of intellectual and aesthetic standards; he deplores multiculturalism, Marxism, feminism, neoconservatism, Afrocentrism, and the New Historicism. Insisting instead upon "the autonomy of aesthetic," Bloom places Shakespeare at the center of the Western Canon.....
-
-
A personal and opinionated book on the Canon
- By Steffen on 07-23-12
By: Harold Bloom
-
Letters to a Young Poet
- By: Rainer Maria Rilke, Stephen Mitchell - translator
- Narrated by: Stephen Mitchell
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Ranier Maria Rilke challenges you, "...to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answers." Rilke's ability to combine the sensual and the spiritual into an inspired vision of the art of living is brought to vivid life in his letters. Through his eyes, the everyday difficulties of love, sex, solitude, sadness, and doubt are seen as the archetypal elements of the drama called life.
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C. S. Lewis is the 20th century's most widely read Christian writer and J. R. R. Tolkien its most beloved mythmaker. For three decades they and their closest associates formed a literary club known as the Inklings, which met weekly in Lewis' Oxford rooms and a nearby pub. They read aloud from works in progress, argued about anything that caught their fancy, and gave one another invaluable companionship, inspiration, and criticism.
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If You Love Literature...
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From Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, via Charles de Gaulle, Hitler, Thomas Mann and Charlie Chaplin, this varied and unfailingly absorbing book is both story and history, both public memoir and personal record - and provides an essential field-guide to the vast movements of taste, intellect, politics and delusion that helped to prepare the times we live in now.
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Very enjoyable and well narrated
- By Larbi on 05-18-08
By: Clive James
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A Life Observed
- A Spiritual Biography of C.S. Lewis
- By: Devin Brown
- Narrated by: Jon Gauger
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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A Life Observed tells the inspiring story of Lewis' spiritual journey from cynical atheist to joyous Christian. Drawing on Lewis' autobiographical works, books by those who knew him personally, and his apologetic and fictional writing, this spiritual biography brings the beloved author’s story to life while shedding light on his best-known works.
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A beautifully written remembrance
- By Rob on 02-06-18
By: Devin Brown
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The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
- How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind
- By: Jason M Baxter
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the 20th century. Many know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature. What shaped the mind of this great thinker?
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Excellent
- By andrew wilson smith on 03-08-22
By: Jason M Baxter
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How Fiction Works
- By: James Wood
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Ranging widely from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings, Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of the art, step by step. He sums up two decades of insight with wit and concision, resulting in nothing less than a philosophy of the novel, which has won critical acclaim nationwide, from the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times Book Review.
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Educational!
- By Don on 05-04-09
By: James Wood
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The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom)
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom) is one of Nietzsche's greatest books. His wonderfully fertile mind roams over mankind, his thoughts, his emotions, his behaviour and his weaknesses with remarkable clarity, with insight - but also with humour!In this work are 383 separate paragraphs, some short, some long, but all singular observations - the epitome of his famous aphoristic style. 'Morality is the herd instinct in the individual.'
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I am now a full-fledged fan of Nietzsche
- By RS on 02-24-18
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Heretics
- By: G. K. Chesterton
- Narrated by: Ulf Bjorklund
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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"Nothing more strangely indicates an enormous and silent evil of modern society than the extraordinary use which is made nowadays of the word orthodox. In former days the heretic was proud of not being a heretic. It was the kingdoms of the world and the police and the judges who were heretics. He was orthodox. He had no pride in having rebelled against them; they had rebelled against him. The armies with their cruel security, the kings with their cold faces, the decorous processes of State, the reasonable processes of law - all these like sheep had gone astray...."
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Like having Steven Hawking read poetry
- By J. Gorton on 02-29-16
By: G. K. Chesterton
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Measure for Measure
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Royal Shakespeare Company
- Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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A performance of the tragi-comedy by the Royal Shakespeare Company. When a young woman is offered the choice of saving a man's life at the price of her own chastity, what should she do? The political and moral corruption of Vienna has driven Duke Vincentio into hiding while his deputy governor, Angelo, is left to revive the old discipline of civic authority. Angelo's first act is to imprison Claudio, a young nobleman who has gotten his betrothed, Juliet, with child.
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Highly recommended
- By Todd on 10-16-08
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Angels and Ages
- A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life
- By: Adam Gopnik
- Narrated by: Adam Gopnik
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Written 200 years after Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln shared a birthday on February 12, 1809, this insightful account sheds new light on two men who changed the way we think about the meaning of life and death. Award-winning journalist Adam Gopnik's unique perspective, combined with previously unexplored stories and figures, reveals two men planted firmly at the roots of modern views and liberal values.
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Connecting Darwin and Lincoln
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Adam Gopnik
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Edgar Allan Poe - The Complete Works Collection
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Philippe Duquenoy
- Length: 48 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most prolific authors of his time, eventually gaining recognition for his tales of horror and his uncanny ability to paint a macabre picture with words. The Complete Works Collection of Edgar Allan Poe contains over 150 stories and poems, separated into individual chapters, including all of Poe's most notorious works such as The Raven, Annabel Lee, A Dream Within a Dream, Lenore, The Tell-Tale Heart, and many more.
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Would recommend to anyone!!!
- By Gail Blackwell on 03-14-18
By: Edgar Allan Poe
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Semicolon
- The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark
- By: Cecelia Watson
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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A pause-resisting, existential romp through the life and times of the world’s most polarizing punctuation mark. Through her rollicking biography of the semicolon, Watson writes a guide to grammar that explains why we don’t need guides at all and refocuses our attention on the deepest, most primary value of language: true communication.
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Silly me; I thought it was about semicolons
- By Jeffrey D on 08-15-19
By: Cecelia Watson
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If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis
- Exploring the Ideas of C. S. Lewis on the Meaning of Life
- By: Alister McGrath
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you ever wondered…whether God exists? whether life has meaning? Whether pain and suffering have a purpose? This audiobook is my invitation to sit down with C. S. Lewis and me to think about some of the persistent questions and dilemmas every person faces in life. We’ll explore Lewis’s thoughts on everything from friendships to heaven, from the reasons for faith to the power of stories.
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A great overview
- By Kevin on 12-31-14
By: Alister McGrath
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On Writing (and Writers)
- A Miscellany of Advice and Opinions
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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A definitive collection of wisdom on every style of writing and a celebration of the transformative power of the written word from one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the modern age, C. S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and other revered classics.
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Prompts
- By M. Jensen on 12-06-23
By: C. S. Lewis
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A Preface to Paradise Lost
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In Preface to Paradise Lost, the Christian apologist and revered scholar and professor of literature closely examines the style, content, structure, and themes of Milton’s masterpiece, a retelling of the biblical story of the Fall of Humankind, Satan’s temptation, and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Considering the story within the context of the Western literary tradition, Lewis offers invaluable insights into Paradise Lost and the nature of literature itself, unveiling the poem’s beauty and its wisdom.
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Another Scholastic Treasure from CSL
- By James on 04-10-22
By: C. S. Lewis
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C. S. Lewis
- Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 38 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This is an extensive collection of short essays and other pieces by C. S. Lewis that have been brought together in one volume for the first time. As well as his many books, letters, and poems, Lewis also wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on various ethical issues and on the nature of literature and storytelling. In this essay collection we find a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.
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Here is the missing Table of Contents
- By R. Valerius on 06-14-16
By: C. S. Lewis
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An Experiment in Criticism
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Richard Elwood
- Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Why do we read literature and how do we judge it? C. S. Lewis' classic An Experiment in Criticism springs from the conviction that literature exists for the joy of the reader and that books should be judged by the kind of reading they invite. He argues that "good reading", like moral action or religious experience, involves surrender to the work in hand and a process of entering fully into the opinions of others: "in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself."
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A Lively and Brilliant Book, Expertly Performed
- By James on 05-22-21
By: C. S. Lewis
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The Four Loves
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: C. S. Lewis
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In this remarkable recording, C. S. Lewis shows why millions of readers have acclaimed him the greatest spokesman for Christianity in the 20th century. In a resonant, baritone voice, Lewis explores the nature of the four Greek words that are translated love in English: storge (affection), philia (friendship), eros (sexual or romantic love) and agape (selfless love).
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Insightful Views on Love
- By William on 01-30-05
By: C. S. Lewis
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The Weight of Glory
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Selected from sermons delivered by C. S. Lewis during World War II, these nine addresses show the beloved author and theologian bringing hope and courage in a time of great doubt. "The Weight of Glory", considered by many to be Lewis’s finest sermon of all, is an incomparable explication of virtue, goodness, desire, and glory.
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Indispensible Lewis
- By Lyle on 01-17-12
By: C. S. Lewis
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On Writing (and Writers)
- A Miscellany of Advice and Opinions
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
A definitive collection of wisdom on every style of writing and a celebration of the transformative power of the written word from one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the modern age, C. S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and other revered classics.
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Prompts
- By M. Jensen on 12-06-23
By: C. S. Lewis
-
A Preface to Paradise Lost
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Preface to Paradise Lost, the Christian apologist and revered scholar and professor of literature closely examines the style, content, structure, and themes of Milton’s masterpiece, a retelling of the biblical story of the Fall of Humankind, Satan’s temptation, and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Considering the story within the context of the Western literary tradition, Lewis offers invaluable insights into Paradise Lost and the nature of literature itself, unveiling the poem’s beauty and its wisdom.
-
-
Another Scholastic Treasure from CSL
- By James on 04-10-22
By: C. S. Lewis
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C. S. Lewis
- Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 38 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is an extensive collection of short essays and other pieces by C. S. Lewis that have been brought together in one volume for the first time. As well as his many books, letters, and poems, Lewis also wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on various ethical issues and on the nature of literature and storytelling. In this essay collection we find a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.
-
-
Here is the missing Table of Contents
- By R. Valerius on 06-14-16
By: C. S. Lewis
-
An Experiment in Criticism
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Richard Elwood
- Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why do we read literature and how do we judge it? C. S. Lewis' classic An Experiment in Criticism springs from the conviction that literature exists for the joy of the reader and that books should be judged by the kind of reading they invite. He argues that "good reading", like moral action or religious experience, involves surrender to the work in hand and a process of entering fully into the opinions of others: "in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself."
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A Lively and Brilliant Book, Expertly Performed
- By James on 05-22-21
By: C. S. Lewis
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The Four Loves
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: C. S. Lewis
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In this remarkable recording, C. S. Lewis shows why millions of readers have acclaimed him the greatest spokesman for Christianity in the 20th century. In a resonant, baritone voice, Lewis explores the nature of the four Greek words that are translated love in English: storge (affection), philia (friendship), eros (sexual or romantic love) and agape (selfless love).
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Insightful Views on Love
- By William on 01-30-05
By: C. S. Lewis
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The Weight of Glory
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Selected from sermons delivered by C. S. Lewis during World War II, these nine addresses show the beloved author and theologian bringing hope and courage in a time of great doubt. "The Weight of Glory", considered by many to be Lewis’s finest sermon of all, is an incomparable explication of virtue, goodness, desire, and glory.
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Indispensible Lewis
- By Lyle on 01-17-12
By: C. S. Lewis
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Till We Have Faces
- A Myth Retold
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the pre-Christian world of Glome on the outskirts of Greek civilization, it is a tale of two princesses: the beautiful Psyche, who is loved by the god of love himself, and Orual, Psyche's unattractive and embittered older sister, who loves Psyche with a destructive possessiveness. Her frustration and jealousy over Psyche's fate sets Orual on the troubled path of self-discovery. Lewis's last work of fiction, this is often considered his best by critics.
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One of a kind.
- By Stephanie on 07-07-10
By: C. S. Lewis
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God in the Dock
- Essays on Theology and Ethics
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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C. S. Lewis was a profound thinker with the rare ability to communicate the philosophical and theological rationale of Christianity in simple yet amazingly effective ways. God in the Dock contains 48 essays and 12 letters written by Lewis between 1940 and 1963 for a wide variety of publications.
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A must-have!
- By JO on 01-13-12
By: C. S. Lewis
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Surprised by Joy
- The Shape of My Early Life
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In this book, C.S. Lewis tells of his search for joy, a spiritual journey that led him from the Christianity of his early youth into atheism and then back to Christianity.
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Not what I expected
- By connie on 12-21-09
By: C. S. Lewis
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Out of the Silent Planet
- Ransom Trilogy, Book 1
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Out of the Silent Planet is the first novel of the Cosmic Trilogy, considered to be C.S. Lewis' chief contribution to the science fiction genre.
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Original, complex, not middle of the road
- By Phantom's Furnature on 05-27-05
By: C. S. Lewis
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C. S. Lewis Essential Audio Library
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt, Joss Ackland, James Simmons, and others
- Length: 38 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Nine essential works by C. S. Lewis in one deluxe audio edition: Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, Miracles, The Problem of Pain, A Grief Observed, The Abolition of Man, The Weight of Glory, and George MacDonald.
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Amazing collection!
- By AHR on 02-22-22
By: C. S. Lewis
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Mere Christianity
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the most popular and beloved introductions to the concept of faith ever written, Mere Christianity has sold millions of copies worldwide. This audiobook brings together C. S. Lewis' legendary radio broadcasts during the war years, in which he set out simply to "explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times."
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Clear Christianity
- By Andrew on 07-17-17
By: C. S. Lewis
What listeners say about The Reading Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bekah Wallis
- 01-28-20
Love, will listen to again and again
I love C.S. Lewis's works. I love listening to John Lee. This was an enjoyable listen!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Stan Stinson
- 12-22-19
Insight into the mind of C.S. Lewis on reading
If you want to gain insight into the mind of C.S. Lewis and his thoughts on reading and many of his contemporary authors, get this one. I suspect you will want to go read your favorite book again when you are done.
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- Stephen York
- 12-12-19
Awesome book!
Highly recommended!
This book is well edited in print and the audible version was complementary to my reading of the text itself.
Reverend Stephen York
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- T. Manhart
- 10-15-19
Loved every minute.
If you’re already C.S. Lewis fan, you’ll smile through every word. He rejuvenate my already passionate love of reading.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Patty Dann
- 01-07-20
Valuable insights on reading
Really opened the door to seeing the world through other’s eyes. Loved his remark regarding being wide and shallow vs narrow (focused) and deep.
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1 person found this helpful